My next toy

[fish'n'chippy]

Hi all
Thought I might post this up for anyone interested

Having sold my SeaJay tinnie at the end of last year I had been on the lookout for a replacement and wanted a glass centre console. I found exactly what I was looking for.....
Those of you who know me know of my liking of the Scout brand of boats in the USA, having already owned one (262 Abaco) a few years ago that I had to sell due to losing a couple of big work contracts in one hit, I had decided that my next boat was to be one of the 17'5" Sportfish's.
What impressed me with the previous boat, apart from the finish, was the shape of the hull. It didn't dissapoint, extremely stable at rest (the missus gets motion sickness) and it cut through chop like it wasn't there. The same principles are used in the Sportfish hulls so I am expecting good things from it for Moreton Bay.

Having done the long hours/months of searching, I found her in New Hampshire at Ipswich Bay Yacht Sales, so I did the numbers (again....) and decided that the extra in road transport in the states was worth it, and the first of many emails was sent. What an absolute pleasure they were to deal with. EVERY email was replied to and EVERY request/question was answered, and they were not bothered when I asked them to remove the windscreen, etc to reduce the size and thus my freight costs. I have no problem in recommending them, and I would certainly buy from them again.
Freight, customs, permits, etc, etc, etc is being handled at this end by Ian McIndoe of Import-a-USA-boat (had a slight name change since I last used him). Again a pleasure to do business with, everything I need for the transport/import is organised and all i do is sign where I need to. They also worked out for me that it will be cheaper as RORO than putting it in a container.

The journey home will begin tomorrow when the boat is picked up to head to the port, and all I can do is wait.......the hardest part.

Scout 175 Sportfish (2005)
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad228/fishnchippy/fishing%20pics/for%20tacklebox/02.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad228/fishnchippy/fishing%20pics/for%20tacklebox/06.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad228/fishnchippy/fishing%20pics/for%20tacklebox/07.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad228/fishnchippy/fishing%20pics/for%20tacklebox/04.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad228/fishnchippy/fishing%20pics/for%20tacklebox/12.jpg

The prawns, squid and jewies are already shaking in their boots.......only the bay snapper don't give give a crap......yet.....
If you see it out on the water from later in the year and want a squizz, come over and say g'day

G

[Floating Rib]

Smart looking machine, hope the import goes well and you are on the water soon.

[Muddy Toes]

Good going there Boss.
Hope it all goes well for ya mate......can't wait to see a few pics of your new baby full of prawns and squid.Keep us all in the loop along the way and we'll catch up soon.
Cheers.

[fish'n'chippy]

Good going there Boss.
Hope it all goes well for ya mate......can't wait to see a few pics of your new baby full of prawns and squid.Keep us all in the loop along the way and we'll catch up soon.
Cheers.

Thanks mate
Goes to show that I don't only drive flybridge boats.......maybe a renovation might be on the cards when it gets here.......

[Goldfinch]

Nice choice mate. I have been also looking at both Scout and Edgewater boats in the USA. They both seem to get a good wrap. There doesn't seem to be any similar boats to these manufactured in Australia except maybe the Tournament Centre Consoles which I haven't heard much about. Good luck with the import. I look forward to the next thread when it arrives.

[OPTI]

nice boat mate ,just in time for the black season ,if they show up this year.

[Boat Hog]

Sweeeeeet! Ohhh boy, I would love to have one of those in the shed! Enjoy you're new ride!!

[fish'n'chippy]

nice boat mate ,just in time for the black season ,if they show up this year.

Thanks Dave
I'm sure it will find its way out there WHEN they arrive, but I am guessing that I will be spending a bit of time out there on your boat ;-)
Bring them on

G

[Sheik]

I'm talking from a position of isupreme gnorance here, but the US boats i see seem to have very low freeboards. Maybe this is because a lot of them are in semi "sheltered" waters al Moreton Bay rather than the big ocean out wider. Would you say that is true? I have considered these boats but am really worried about having freeboard at knee level or below.
From what I've seen they seem to like having good freeboarrd around the anchor but not at the stern. Comments would be appreciated.
regards jim

[Goodoo haven]

Lovely looking boat. I hope you get a lot of pleasure outta it.

[fish'n'chippy]

this is the best pic of the boat i've seen.......only 9,700 odd miles to go......

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad228/fishnchippy/fishing%20pics/for%20ausfish/17ScoutDowntheRoad004.jpg

G

[netmaker]

too flash grahame. i had trouble keeping up with ya on your (mates) last rig. you will need to carry a few loaves of bread and leave a crumb trail now!

[fish'n'chippy]

Sheik
yes, there are a lot of the USA boats built like this
Stripers are an exception in the smaller sizes, but most of the brands have deeper gunnels once you get above 21' - 22'.
personaly i don't need/want high sides all around, it's much easier to throw a net from a low sided boat ;)
if it performs well for me in the Moreton Bay chop i will be very happy

as long as you know what you want in a boat, if you search long and hard enough you will eventually find what you are after.

[fish'n'chippy]

too flash grahame. i had trouble keeping up with ya on your (mates) last rig. you will need to carry a few loaves of bread and leave a crumb trail now!

i'll just put a tow rope on the back for you mate, problem solved.......

[gofishin]

Nice looking boat!

You may have already checked this out, but the trailer looks to be over 2.4m wide - which is/was(?) the max width of a 'trailer' in AUS.

Now I know the towing regs have been relaxed a bit recently, however I thought that only applied to boats, i.e. what was 'on' the trailer. There are other changes reqd to meet ADR compliance (hitch, lights etc), but if this is your second import you probably have this sussed out too.

There must be a way around the trailer width issue, as I have seen some yanky imports around with wide trailers - in fact a mate owned one, although he bought it locally, 3rd hand.
cheers
Brendon

[fish'n'chippy]

thanks Brendon

the trailer is 2.6m and the maximum width you can register here is 2.5m (so i am informed.....)
the plan is to offload the boat at the local marina so i can play silly buggers with the trailer,
change the axle to a mechanical brake axle, and swap over the tow hitch and lights to the Aust. approved ones.
if i can keep the rims an tyres that is a bonus, but if not i'll simply change them too.
the boat itself is 2.3m wide, so i don't have to worry about overwidth permits, flashing lights, signs, etc. i can just hook it up and go fishing anytime.....anywhere......

G

[Apollo]

Nice work there champ. That model Scout made it onto the final two list for me when I was importing earlier this year. You have got the right age one too. Hope it ends up as good as it looks and the import process goes smoothly for you.

Steve

[Hossfish]

Dear Santa.

I've been a very, very good boy this year and i have just seen some pics of Chippy's new boat and i was just wondering if ????

Oh well it never hurts to dream.

Looks like plenty of good times ahead Mr Chippy- enjoy.

Safe boating to all.

Regards Greg

[wrxhoon]

Nice looking boat!

You may have already checked this out, but the trailer looks to be over 2.4m wide - which is/was(?) the max width of a 'trailer' in AUS.


cheers
Brendon

Max Trailer/vehicle width in Australia is 2.5 mtrs .

fish'n'chippy,
I think you will find the trailer is 8'6" wide (2.59 mtrs in our language).
You will find if you move the guards very close to the I beams you can get it to 2.5 mts. You have a few options on the axle , depending if you have torsion or springs. Remove the axle and cut 9 cm from the middle then weld together. Whatever you do don't discard the hydraulic brakes for cable , hydro brakes are far far better, just change the coupling and use a local master cylinder.
If you were in sydney I could engineer/comply it with the yank coupling/master cyl.

[fish'n'chippy]

thanks for that
i know that it is 2.6m wide,
but i will wait until the boat is off the trailer before i make a decision on what will be changed out and what can be re-engineered to be compliant.
once it's here i will most likely post up some pics and measurements of the trailer and be chasing more opinions/solutions on what is the best way to go
thanks again
G

[WalrusLike]

Just don't get Grand Marlin to hold the dumb end of the tape when you measure the width! :)

He wound one bloke here up pretty good with the tape.....

[fish'n'chippy]

Hi all
I got a rather pleasing email from the importer today
My boat has been cleaned, wrapped, etc and is on the dock to be loaded
But the best part is that the "official" measurements have been done and it is now UNDER the size quoted on by 5 cbm which equates to 12.5% ;D

G

[Goodoo haven]

Congrats Graham, good news all around for you mate.

[fish'n'chippy]

Well she is now tucked neatly inside the ship and is on the way
44 restless nights to go ........
I think that I am worse than a kid waiting for Christmas:D

G

[fish'n'chippy]

we've made it home........it still gets me how easy it is to bring a boat 1/2 way round the world
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad228/fishnchippy/fishing%20pics/for%20ausfish/PA240027.jpg
it will be a while before she is fully operational due to work, but the cleaning has started.
i am looking at putting it on a hardstand at the local marina so the trailer is bare, and at this stage i am leaning towards taking the trailer somewhere (any recommendations at this point would be good) and just saying fix this.......
will post up more when it's put back together.

G

[WalrusLike]

Congrats G.

Looks like a ripper fishing machine. Nice lines and good design.

Glad your new baby made it all that way safely to you. Hope you have a great time with it.

[netmaker]

Hi all
I got a rather pleasing email from the importer today
My boat has been cleaned, wrapped, etc and is on the dock to be loaded
But the best part is that the "official" measurements have been done and it is now UNDER the size quoted on by 5 cbm which equates to 12.5% ;D

G

geez, they must have wrapped that sucker tight to take that much width off her...

[predator]

Hi Graham.

When I imported my 2101 seaswirl in I used the same axles (Torsion). I had plastic guards on it and cut them in as WRXHOON said. Then I bought four rims with a different offset to get them just under the magic 2.5m.

Nice boat, that will serve you well.

cheers

[fish'n'chippy]

Hi Graham.

When I imported my 2101 seaswirl in I used the same axles (Torsion). I had plastic guards on it and cut them in as WRXHOON said. Then I bought four rims with a different offset to get them just under the magic 2.5m.

Nice boat, that will serve you well.
cheers


thanks for the reply

i have a "boatport" on the side of my house that has a gap of 2.4m between the piers, and while i don't mind to pull the house apart to fit a wider trailer, the missus is not all that keen on the idea........:-?
my options are either; make the trailer just legal and keep it inside the garage beside the wifes car and park the ute and work trailer down the side of the house, or to strip the trailer down and rebuild it to be 2.3m overall width, which is the prefered option all round ;)
i'll have the boat off the trailer in 2 or 3 weeks and will have to make a decision by then as to which way to go......